Tanya Plibersek by Margaret Simons

Author:Margaret Simons
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781743823040
Publisher: Schwartz Books Pty. Ltd.

7

WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN

Many of Tanya Plibersek’s colleagues do not rate her as a deep or innovative policy thinker. The Plibersek-sceptics – the ones who say she is better liked among the ‘luvvies’ of left-wing Labor voters than among her parliamentary colleagues – make this point most forcefully. But even her supporters in the parliamentary party, those who say they would vote for her to be leader, given the opportunity, tend not to nominate policy innovation when listing her main strengths.

Asked for her weaknesses, the Plibersek-sceptics suggest that she can be ‘prickly’ with those she disagrees with, including the current leadership team. They point out that she has spent her career in portfolios that involve spending taxpayers’ money, rather than managing the economy or growing national wealth. The criticism the Morrison government made of Anthony Albanese in the lead-up to the 2022 election – that he had never held an economic portfolio – could be made with even more force against Plibersek, should she ever be leader.

All acknowledge her empathy, her hard work and her communication skills. Her colleagues note the qualities she displayed in the housing portfolio, particularly after the injection of stimulus spending. They see her organised, systematic mind – dealing well with multiple levels of government, with business and the public service – and her ability to get the best from the people around her. But they also say she is not a big-picture thinker. After all, they say, the innovative policy thinking in housing had been mostly done by others – the housing policy community – before Labor came to government. The work on childcare and paid parental leave was done in partnership with Macklin.

Plibersek is, in the words of one of her colleagues a ‘bring people together, have a good listen, enable and persuade kind of person’ rather than a ‘big-picture, follow-me kind of person’. This does not mean she is not a potential leader. Some argue that the time for flights of oratory – for visionary, follow-me leadership – is over. We live in more sceptical times. ‘To quote the great Tina Turner,’ said one senior Labor figure interviewed for this book, ‘We don’t need another hero.’ The same person pointed out that one of Labor’s most successful prime ministers, Bob Hawke, was best known for managing a strong team, communicating to the electorate and retaining public support, rather than devising visionary policy on his own.

All of this commentary on Plibersek’s policy credentials – largely delivered by men – tends to overlook her longest-lasting and most profound policy contributions, which were in her work affecting women and children. In particular there is her work on domestic violence and violence against women.

Plibersek says she can’t remember a time when she wasn’t aware that domestic violence was an enormous issue. She has a childhood memory from when she was very young. It was the middle of the night. Little Tanya was awakened by one of her mother’s friends arriving in distress, in fear for her life.

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